No progress in West Coast port talks

LOS ANGELES (Oct. 7. 2002) — Longshoremen rejected the latest contract proposal from shipping lines in a dispute that has shut down West Coast ports and done billions of dollars in damage to the economy.

Labour talks broke off indefinitely after the International Longshore and Warehouse Union rejected a three-year contract offer, Steve Sugerman, a spokesman for the Pacific Maritime Association, told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

“The PMA presented a comprehensive proposal to the longshore union, which would have made their members the highest-paid blue-collar workers in America,” said Sugerman.

The PMA said its proposal provides average annual wages of $114,500 to $137,500 for full-time workers, depending on classification, plus a comprehensive health insurance plan that provides 100 per cent coverage with no premiums and no deductibles, and a guaranteed pension of over $40,000 a year for life.

The PMA is also providing job protection guarantees for all registered union members who may be impacted by the introduction of new technology to modernize the docks. The union wants jobs created by new technology to be unionized.

The PMA, which represents shipping companies and terminal operators, has locked out 10,500 union members, claiming the dockworkers had engaged in a slowdown late last month. The PMA offered to reopen the West Coast ports if the union agreed to a 90-day contract extension to finalize the new contract, Sugerman said.

The association ordered the lockout until the union agrees to extend a contract that expired July 1. Now in its second week, it has stranded cargo vessels at West Coast ports and created alarm among economist, who fear the disruption in the supply chain could cause widespread financial turmoil.

Industry groups are calling for White House intervention, including use of the Taft-Hartley Act, which would force an 80-day cooling off period.